System and method for delivering high current to electrosurgical device

ABSTRACT

An electrosurgical system is disclosed. The system includes an electrosurgical generator adapted to supply electrosurgical power and an electrosurgical device coupled to the electrosurgical generator. The electrosurgical device includes a transformer and one or more active electrodes coupled thereto, wherein the transformer is adapted to step down the voltage of the power supplied by the electrosurgical generator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/249,218 filed on Oct. 10, 2008, the disclosureof which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to electrosurgical apparatuses, systemsand methods. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed toelectrosurgical devices adapted for delivery of high current.

2. Background of Related Art

Electrosurgery involves application of high radio frequency electricalcurrent to a surgical site to cut, seal, ablate, or coagulate tissue. Inmonopolar electrosurgery, a source or active electrode delivers radiofrequency energy from the electrosurgical generator to the tissue and areturn electrode carries the current back to the generator. In monopolarelectrosurgery, the source electrode is typically part of a surgicalinstrument held by the surgeon and applied to the tissue to be treated.A patient return electrode is placed remotely from the active electrodeto carry the current back to the generator.

In bipolar electrosurgery, a hand-held instrument typically carries twoelectrodes, e.g., electrosurgical forceps. One of the electrodes of thehand-held instrument functions as the active electrode and the other asthe return electrode. The return electrode is placed in close proximityto the active (i.e., current supplying) electrode such that anelectrical circuit is formed between the two electrodes. In this manner,the applied electrical current is limited to the body tissue positionedbetween the two electrodes.

In certain situations it is desirable to operate the electrosurgicalinstruments using relatively long connection cables. Due to the increasein cable length, the resistance of the wires within the cables limitsthe current that can be supplied directly to the instruments from thegenerator.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, anelectrosurgical system is provided. The system includes anelectrosurgical generator adapted to supply electrosurgical power and anelectrosurgical device coupled to the electrosurgical generator. Theelectrosurgical device includes a transformer and one or more activeelectrodes coupled thereto, wherein the transformer is adapted to stepdown the voltage of the power supplied by the electrosurgical generator.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, anelectrosurgical instrument is provided. The instrument is configured tocouple to an electrosurgical generator that is adapted to supplyelectrosurgical power to the electrosurgical instrument. Theelectrosurgical instrument includes at least one active electrode and atransformer coupled to the at least one active electrode. Thetransformer is adapted to step down the voltage of the power supplied bythe electro surgical generator.

A method for transmitting electrosurgical energy is also contemplated bythe present disclosure. The method includes the steps of generatingelectrosurgical power at an electrosurgical generator, transmittingelectrosurgical power to an electrosurgical device including atransformer and one or more active electrodes coupled thereto andstepping down the voltage of the electrosurgical power supplied by theelectrosurgical generator prior to supplying the stepped down voltageelectrosurgical power to the active electrodes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein withreference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a bipolar electrosurgical systemin accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a generator in accordance withone embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an electrical schematic diagram of an electrosurgicalinstrument according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an electrical schematic diagram of an electrosurgicalinstrument according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Particular embodiments of the present disclosure are describedhereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings. In thefollowing description, well-known functions or constructions are notdescribed in detail to avoid obscuring the present disclosure inunnecessary detail.

The present disclosure relates to electrosurgical instruments that areadapted to receive high frequency electrical energy from anelectrosurgical generator. The instruments according to the presentdisclosure can perform bipolar electrosurgical procedures, includingvessel sealing procedures. The generator may include a plurality ofoutputs for interfacing with various electrosurgical instruments (e.g.,bipolar electrosurgical forceps, footswitch, etc.). Further, thegenerator includes electronic circuitry configured for generating radiofrequency power specifically suited for various electrosurgical modesand procedures (e.g., bipolar, vessel sealing).

FIG. 1 shows a bipolar electrosurgical system 5 according to the presentdisclosure that includes an electrosurgical forceps 10 having opposingjaw members 50 and 55. The forceps 10 includes a shaft member 64 havingan end effector assembly 40 disposed at the distal end thereof. The endeffector assembly 40 includes two jaw members 50 and 55 movable from afirst position wherein the jaw members 50 and 55 are spaced relative toanother to a closed position wherein the jaw members 50 and 55 cooperateto grasp tissue therebetween. Each of the jaw members 50 and 55 includesan electrically conductive sealing plate 112 and 122, respectively,connected to the generator 20 that communicates electrosurgical energythrough the tissue held therebetween.

Electrically conductive sealing plates 112 and 122, which act as activeand return electrodes, are connected to the generator 20 through cable23, which includes the supply and return lines coupled to the active andreturn terminals 30, 32 (FIG. 2). The cable 23 encloses the supply lines4 and 8. The electrosurgical forceps 10 is coupled to the generator 20at the active and return terminals 30 and 32 (e.g., pins) via a plug 92disposed at the end of the cable 23, wherein the plug includes contactsfrom the supply and return lines. Electrosurgical RF energy is suppliedto the forceps 10 by generator 20 via a supply line 4 connected to theactive electrode and returned through a return line connected to thereturn electrode.

Forceps 10 generally includes a housing 60 and a handle assembly 74 thatincludes movable handle 62 and handle 72, which is integral with thehousing 60. Handle 62 is movable relative to handle 72 to actuate theend effector assembly 40 to grasp and treat tissue. The forceps 10 alsoincludes shaft 64 that has a distal end 68 that mechanically engages theend effector assembly 40 and a proximal end 69 that mechanically engagesthe housing 60 proximate a rotating assembly 80 disposed at a distal endof the housing 60.

With reference to FIG. 1, the generator 20 includes suitable inputcontrols (e.g., buttons, activators, switches, touch screen, etc.) forcontrolling the generator 20. In addition, the generator 20 includes oneor more display screens for providing the surgeon with variety of outputinformation (e.g., intensity settings, treatment complete indicators,etc.). The controls allow the surgeon to adjust power of the RF energy,waveform, and other parameters to achieve the desired waveform suitablefor a particular task (e.g., coagulating, tissue sealing, division withhemostasis, etc.). Further, the forceps 10 may include a plurality ofinput controls, which may be redundant with certain input controls ofthe generator 20. Placing the input controls at the forceps 10 allowsfor easier and faster modification of RF energy parameters during thesurgical procedure without requiring interaction with the generator 20.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of the generator 20 having acontroller 24, a power supply 27, an RF output stage 28, and a sensormodule 22. The power supply 27 may provide DC power to the RF outputstage 28 that then converts the DC power into RF energy and delivers theRF energy to the forceps 10. The controller 24 includes a microprocessor25 having a memory 26, which may be volatile type memory (e.g., RAM)and/or non-volatile type memory (e.g., flash media, disk media, etc.).The microprocessor 25 includes an output port connected to the powersupply 27 and/or RF output stage 28, which allows the microprocessor 25to control the output of the generator 20 according to either openand/or closed control loop schemes.

The generator 20 may include a plurality of connectors to accommodatevarious types of electrosurgical instruments (e.g., electrosurgicalforceps 10, etc.). Further, the generator 20 may be configured tooperate in a variety of modes such as ablation, monopolar and bipolar,cutting, coagulation, etc. It is envisioned that the generator 20 mayalso include a switching mechanism (e.g., relays) to switch the supplyof RF energy between the connectors.

It is well known in the art that the resistance of the active and returnlines 4 and 8 increases with the length of the lines 4 and 8. As theresistance increases, the maximum current that may be passedtherethrough is limited accordingly. It may be desirable in certainelectrosurgical procedures to provide relatively high current. This maybe accomplished by increasing thickness of the wires, thereby reducingresistance of the active and return lines 4 and 8. However, thisapproach results in increased material use and is especially problematicwhen the electrosurgical instruments include relatively long wires, suchas with endoscopic instruments.

The present disclosure provides for a system and method for supplyinghigh voltage and low current power to the electrosurgical instrument andthen stepping down the voltage and increasing the current accordingly.The stepped-down voltage and increase current power is then supplied bythe transformer to one or more electrodes of the electrosurgicalinstrument.

FIG. 3 shows an electrical schematic diagram of the system 3 having astep down transformer 200 for stepping down the voltage and increasingcurrent supplied by the generator 20. The step down transformer 200 maybe adapted to operate with various other electrosurgical instruments. Inaddition, any other type voltage converters may be used in lieu of thestep down transformer 200.

The RF output stage 28 may include an isolation transformer 202 thatisolates the patient load from the high voltage power supply 27. Theisolation transformer 202 includes a primary winding 204 and a secondarywinding 208. The RF output stage 28 generates a radio frequency energysuitable for performing a particular electrosurgical procedure (e.g.,coagulation, etc.) having a high voltage (V_(HI)) and low current thatis then transformed by the isolation transformer 202. Variousoperational modes supply RF energy at various voltage and currentlevels. Those skilled in the art of transformer design may select anysuitable step up ratio and line voltages.

The isolation transformer 202 includes a primary winding 204, which iselectrically coupled to the power supply 27 and various components ofthe RF output stage 28. The transformer 202 also includes a secondarywinding 208, which is connected to the forceps 10 through the cable 23.More specifically, each of the active and return lines 4 and 8 iselectrically coupled to the secondary winding 208 of the transformer202. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the cable 23 connects the generator 20to the forceps 10 allowing the electrosurgical energy to flow throughthe active and return lines 4 and 8 to the electrically conductivesealing plates 112 and 122.

The forceps 10 includes a step down transformer 200 that is disposedwithin the housing 60 or alternatively in the handle 72. In anotherembodiment, shown in FIG. 4, the transformer 200 is disposed at thedistal end 68 of the shaft 64 in proximity to the jaw members 50 and 55.The transformer 200 includes a primary winding 210 and a secondarywinding 212. The primary winding 210 is coupled to the active and returnlines 4 and 8 and the secondary winding 212 is coupled to an active lead214 and a return lead 216. The active and return leads 214 and 216 aredisposed within the shaft 64 and are electrically coupled electricallyconductive sealing plates 112 and 122 (e.g., active lead 214 is coupledto the sealing plate 112 and return lead 216 is coupled to the sealingplate 122).

The primary winding 210 includes a predetermined number of primary turnsN_(P) and the secondary winding 212 include a number of secondary turnsN_(S). The turns ratio between the primary and secondary turns(N_(P)/N_(S)) determines the step-down ratio of the transformer 210,which may be adjusted to achieve a desired step down voltage (V_(DN)).The energy supplied by the transformer 202 to the forceps may have highvoltage and low current, allowing for current transmission along thinnerconductors of the active and return lines 4 and 8 as well as throughlonger transmission distances (e.g., up to about 6 meters). Once thehigh voltage energy is transmitted to the forceps 10, the transformer200 steps down the V_(HI) to V_(DN) thereby increasing the current ofthe transmitted energy. The stepped-down V_(DN) is then transmittedalong the active and return leads 214 and 216 to the electricallyconductive sealing plates 112 and 122. The transformer 200 may have apredetermined step down ratio suitable for stepping down the highvoltage power to lower voltage high current power. Any suitable ratiomay be used to achieve a desired level of high current.

FIG. 5 shows a method for transmitting high voltage electrosurgicalenergy to the forceps 10 according to the present disclosure. In step300, the generator 20 produces a desired electrosurgical energy output.This may be accomplished by selecting one of predetermined output modes(e.g., vessel sealing, bipolar coagulation, etc.) and/or settingintensity settings for the mode. The mode selection and user-adjustablesettings set the voltage and current of the power to be supplied to theforceps 10.

After the selection of the desired mode is made, in step 310, thegenerator 20 adjusts the power of the selected energy output bycompensating for the stepping, since the voltage of the actual output ofthe forceps 10 is going to be stepped-down at the forceps 10. Thecompensation may involve increasing the voltage and lowering thecurrent, while taking into consideration the step down ratio of thetransformer 200 or 250 of the forceps 10. The step down ratio may bepreset manually, by the user of the generator 20 or automatically, byobtaining ratio data relating to the step down ratio of the transformer200 from the forceps 10. In one embodiment, the forceps 10 may includean identifier adapted to be read by the generator 20. The identifierstores the ratio data that is then utilized by the generator 20 inadjusting the energy output to compensate for the stepping down at theforceps 10.

In step 315, the user may adjust the transformer 250 to achieve thedesired step down ratio. In one embodiment, the generator 20 then mayreadjust the output power as discussed above with respect to step 310.

In step 320, the generator 20 transmits compensated high voltage and lowcurrent power to the forceps 10. In step 330, the forceps 10, and inparticular the transformer 200 or 250 step down the energy from thegenerator 20 to lower voltage and higher current. In step 340, thestepped-down voltage is transmitted to the electrically conductivesealing plates 112 and 122.

The system and method according to the present disclosure provides fortransmission of high voltage and low current power to theelectrosurgical instruments. This allows for minimizing cable size,e.g., using less conductive material, thereby reducing material cost andwaste. Conversely, this also allows for use of longer cables havingthinner conductors, thereby minimizing the amount of material used.

While several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown in thedrawings and/or discussed herein, it is not intended that the disclosurebe limited thereto, as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad inscope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise.Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting,but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments. Those skilledin the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spiritof the claims appended hereto.

1.-17. (canceled)
 18. An electrosurgical system, comprising: anelectrosurgical generator adapted to supply electrosurgical power, theelectrosurgical generator including an isolation transformer; and anelectrosurgical device coupled to the electrosurgical generator, theelectrosurgical device including: a housing; a shaft extending from thehousing having an end-effector assembly disposed at a distal endthereof, the end-effector assembly including first and second jawmembers, the first jaw member including an active electrode and thesecond jaw member including a return electrode; and a step-downtransformer disposed at a distal end of the shaft in proximity to thefirst and second jaw members, the step-down transformer including aprimary winding coupled to the isolation transformer and a secondarywinding coupled to an active lead of the active electrode and a returnlead of the return electrode.
 19. The electrosurgical system accordingto claim 18, wherein electrosurgical energy flows from the activeelectrode through tissue positioned between the first and second jawmembers to the return electrode.
 20. The electrosurgical systemaccording to claim 18, wherein the step-down transformer is adapted tostep down the voltage of the electrosurgical power supplied by theelectrosurgical generator.
 21. The electrosurgical system according toclaim 18, wherein the electrosurgical device is a bipolar device. 22.The electrosurgical system according to claim 21, wherein the bipolardevice is an electrosurgical forceps.
 23. An electrosurgical instrumentconfigured to couple to an electrosurgical generator adapted to supplyelectrosurgical power to the electrosurgical instrument, theelectrosurgical instrument comprising: a housing; a shaft extending fromthe housing having an end-effector assembly disposed at a distal endthereof, the end-effector assembly including first and second jawmembers, the first jaw member including an active electrode and thesecond jaw member including a return electrode; and a step-downtransformer disposed at a distal end of the shaft in proximity to thejaw members, the step-down transformer adapted to step down a voltage ofthe power supplied by the electrosurgical generator and including aprimary winding configured to couple to an isolation transformer and asecondary winding coupled to an active lead of the active electrode anda return lead of the return electrode.
 24. The electrosurgicalinstrument according to claim 23, wherein electrosurgical energy flowsfrom the active electrode through tissue positioned between the firstand second jaw members to the return electrode.
 25. The electrosurgicalinstrument according to claim 23, wherein the step-down transformer isadapted to step down the voltage of the electrosurgical power suppliedby the electrosurgical generator.
 26. The electrosurgical instrumentaccording to claim 23, wherein the electrosurgical instrument is anelectrosurgical forceps.
 27. A method for transmitting electrosurgicalenergy, the method comprising: transmitting electrosurgical powersupplied by an electrosurgical generator to an electrosurgical deviceincluding a step-down transformer and at least one active electrodecoupled thereto, the step-down transformer adapted to step down avoltage of the electrosurgical power supplied by the electrosurgicalgenerator and including a primary winding configured to couple to anisolation transformer and further including a secondary winding coupledto the at least one active electrode; and stepping down the voltage ofthe electrosurgical power supplied by the electrosurgical generatorprior to transmitting the electrosurgical power to the at least oneactive electrode.
 28. The method according to claim 27, whereintransmitting electrosurgical power to an electrosurgical device furtherincludes the electrosurgical device further including a shaft havingfirst and second jaw members disposed at a distal end thereof.
 29. Themethod according to claim 28, wherein transmitting electrosurgical powerto an electrosurgical device further includes the step-down transformerdisposed at the distal end of the shaft in proximity to the first andsecond jaw members.
 30. The method according to claim 27, furthercomprising reading an identifier associated with the electrosurgicaldevice, the identifier adapted to store ratio data relating to the stepdown ratio of the step-down transformer.
 31. The method according toclaim 27, further comprising adjusting electrosurgical power at theelectrosurgical generator based on the ratio data.